Day 45 (still) - Palolem (still)

Been hanging around in the same cafe for 7 hours now, 4 more to go! In my boredom I've sketched a picture of my wonderful indian style (click on it to see it in its full, time wasting glory). Très chic.

Below: Goodbye to skanky goan beach dogs forever - huzzah!

Day 45 - Palolem

Last day in Palolem...

We're all packed up and waiting to go. Lisa and I have seats booked on tonight's train in the grottiest sleeper carriage possible of the Netravati Express train, which leaves from the nearby station of Canacona at about midnight, and arrives in Alleppey, Kerala at about 5pm. The fact that we are travelling in said grotty carriage is entirely due to our bad organisation - yesterday morning it suddenly occurred to us that we were meant to be leaving the next day. "Oh bugger" was the general reaction. We quickly dashed to the ticket office and sent someone to get a ticket. An hour or so later our tickets arrived... and we realised that they were for Sleeper Class - non-airconditioned, grotty sleeper class, with prison bars across the windows (see picture)... where we will spend 20 hours being stared at, or reduced to tears by the condition of the train's toilets. Fab.

Will post in a few days if I survive the ordeal...

later: have investigated the situation on the wonderful site that is seat61 - seems all may not be as bad as i thought afterall... will keep fingers crossed

Day 43 - Palolem

Well, we are in Palolem now! Arrived last night...

Our last day in Arambol was great (espite cruddy weather) . I did some shopping - bought some new clothes (so I could finally ditch some particularly old, ragged ones, india is hell on clothes!). We also had a most glorious dinner in Mouth of Buddha restaurant - I had king prawns (yuuuum) , quickly finished them then watched in amazement as Anna consumed the most enormous red mullet imaginable. The others also had delicious food, and we stayed late, drinking coffee and chatting to the guys on the next table. It rained all the way through dinner (again) so we practically had to wade back to our apartment, pull our sodden clothing off the line (where it had sat about 3 days without drying even the teeniest bit) and set our alarms for an early start the next day.

To get to Palolem we caught a grand total of 5 buses from the very northern-most beach of Arambol to the Palolem in the south (Yes - 5 buses! Personal record, and it was so cheap and easy - grand total waiting time was less than 2 minutes, and the whole days travel cost about 80p - got to love the Indian public transport!). All not peachy in paradise though - we left behind rainy Arambol, only to arrive in Palolem in torrential rain (been raining for 5 days apparently).

Initially had a bit of a rush to find accomodation - all the beach huts have been torn down after not one owner applied for their licences so no beach huts for us("even the man driving the bulldozer couldn't be bribed" the owners say in tones of horror and disbelief, seems it is usual to not apply for licences, but bribe local police instead!) . We've got a couple of cheap, clean rooms a minutes walk from the beach instead - Lisa and Julie even have a TV, what luxury!!

Thankfully the rain cleared up about 10 this morning, so most of my day has been spent turning slowly crimson on the perfect beach. Bliss was interrupted every five minutes by someone trying to sell us coconuts/sarongs/jewellary/massages, and a reeeaally creepy Indian bloke who asked us if we would sleep with him (in more explicit terms), was rejected (most definately and descriptively) but proceeded to stand and stare at us from mere feet away, oblivious to threats of bodily harm/police/large rugby-playing boyfriends. Eventually I borrowed Anna's digital camera and took some close-up pictures of him until he ran away... with me, yelling and still taking pictures, chasing after him (much to amusement of other tourists and people rebuilding huts).

Tonight we are going to an nice cafe to try some Goan dishes, then maybe drinks on the beach. I keep meaning to get up early and jog along the beach - Bourne style - but somehow cannot manage getting out of bed before absolutely necessary! Will try tomorrow. Also have to upload photographs from the girls cameras, I keep meaning to but keep forgetting. Maybe I'll remember later - I'll make sure to include one of the guy being chased down the beach (hehe).

Because I feel I haven't added enough envy-inducing photos lately, here are a few....

Day 40 - Arambol

It's raaaaiiiining

Anna and I ran out of our room at about 10am after waiting an hour for the rain to stop, and finally giving up after our stomachs started growling in unison. Anna took the stairs first, but when she hit the corner she carried on in a big slide and disappeared off the edge! (I did the same thing yesterday in less slapstick style - have a swollen, black elbow to show for it)

We shouted at the guys running the hostel, and they got so scared they all ran to scrub the steps. And we limped/ran to the nearest cafe.

About an hour later the other girls joined us. We waited for the rain to stop...

... 6 hours later we were still waiting. We have just decided we need to leave the cafe for a bit, so ran to internet cafe. But will be going back I'm sure.

Aging hippie says the rain only started yesterday, and may go on for a few days ("will be raining everywhere, don't bother going south to escape it girls" - rats). My tan was coming on so nicely... and I really did fancy swimming, and watching wierdo wander around like mud people. Maybe it will stop tomorrow!

Day 39 - Arambol

It's my biiirthdaay! In Arambol now (it's raining - ick), staying in some apartment hugging the rocks to the north of the beach. It is very cool here - full of huppies, Isrielies and generally very chilled out, scruffy travellers.

I celebrated my birthday in style last night - wonderful, fresh fish biryiani, coffee and desert at shivas, beers at Starco (now that place was wierd - veery shady, but funny). We met a german girl and Belgian guy and all went to Paradiso, the club next to the beach. Now that was really funny! We walked straight in, and into a wide terrace area packed with small stalls selling chai, chocolate and cigarettes - strange. The floor was vibrating with the techno music from downstairs. Despite not being great fans of Techno (in Anjuna the only acceptable music is either Techno or Bob Marley - I know which I prefer) we trooped down the stairs to have a look.... and immediately burst out laughing. The place was rammed full of guys and they were dancing like nothing else I've ever seen - the Indian blokes were shaking their thing with full dedication and confidence, all the other blokes were trying unsuccessfully to copy them, or just jumping up and down completely off their faces. Anyway - it started raining, so we couldn't go back upstairs for chai - so stayed to watch the hilarious dancing. At one point we got found by one of the little guys working at the hostel, and he spent about an hour showing us his crazy moves (amusing picture to follow). We turned down offers of drinks, drugs and dances 'til the cows came home, and finally left at about 2 with our ears ringing.

This morning we dragged ourselves out of bed, packed and went for a last yummy brekkie at Shiva's before catching a bus to Arambol. It is nice here, despite current pants weather. Tommorrow we plan to walk to a small cove with apparently white sands and clear sea - there is also a lake surrounded in yellow mud, which aformentioned aged hippies smear themselves with and wonder round in the nuddy (much to amusement of Indian tourists and locals) - 'parrently it is good for the skin - anyway, should be an amusing sight!

Thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday - hope it's not raining with you too!